SPEED MANAGEMENT AND ACCIDENT REDUCTION AMONG MOTORISTS IN LAGOS STATE
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
- 1. The background of the study
- The daily activities of human beings revolve around one form of transport or another. In essence, the
social and economic activities of individuals involve, to a large extent, their movement from one place to
another. The movement of people and goods from one place to another implies the use of different
means of transport. Transport finds its use in the air, in (and, sometimes, in) water and land.
Consequently, transportation infrastructure is very important for countries around the world in the search
to advance their national and economic development. Land transport is grouped into 3 types, namely
transport by pipes, transport by rail and road transport. Road transport is basically the most used of the
three types mentioned above, which represent more than 70 percent of the movement of people and
goods worldwide (IRTAD 2014). This is so, possibly because land transport is the closest to man as a
result of its relative profitability and safety. Consequently, the vehicular movement has become a vital
aspect of humanity, since it plays a key role in the economic activities of man. An example of this can be
seen in transportation. of essential goods in trucks through huge ships and tanks that contain petroleum
products (to mention just a few) from production or manufacturing sites to their end users. It goes without
saying that the uncoordinated movements of such trucks sometimes affect the flow of vehicles and
undermine the safety and welfare of the population. This, in turn, undermines human security and limits
the achievement of national objectives. The burden of morbidity and mortality in developing countries
such as Nigeria is increasing due to the combination of factors including rapid motorization, poor roads
and speed infrastructure, as well as the behavior of road users. This contrasts with the technologically
advanced countries where indices are shrinking. RTC has been identified as the eighth cause of death
worldwide, and developing countries are the most affected. According to the World Health Organization
(WHO), around 1.3 million people die worldwide each year as a result of speeding accidents on the road.
The WHO figures also indicated that five hundred (500) children die each day in traffic accidents
worldwide. In fact, the road speed injury is among the four leading causes of death for all five-year-olds.
To raise awareness of this mortal reality, Jean Todt, president of the International Automobile Federation
(FIA), the International Automobile Federation and the Special Envoy of the Secretary General of Road
Safety of the UN, addressed the world-renowned film director …Luc Benson to deliver a potent message
through a movie on the incredible dangers children face when crossing the road (Udodiong, 2016).
Also according to WHO Chief, Margaret Chan „„road speed fatalities take an unacceptable high toll, particularly on
poor people in poor countries‟‟ (WER) The lack of adequate security laws, inadequate infrastructure and poor
enforcement in low and middle income countries account for 90% of road deaths in the world. The economic costs of
these countries amount to almost $ 100 billion a year (Khazan, 2013).
According to Bauer (2015), countries such as Russia, China, Turkey, Egypt, India, Vietnam, Kenya, Brazil, Mexico
and Cambodia are responsible for almost half of all road deaths, reports Bloomberg Philanthropies. India has the
highest total number of deaths, followed by China and the United States of America. Meanwhile; In Africa, Eritrea has
the highest concentration of road deaths (48.4 per 100 000 inhabitants), followed by Egypt and Libya. According to
WHO estimates, the number of road deaths will be the fifth cause of death in 2030. Because of the enormity of the
problem, the UN felt it would take a decade to cope. In 2011, the United Nations launched a “Decade of Action” aimed
at stabilizing and reducing mortality worldwide by 2020.
Sung and Rios (2015) reported that worldwide, 50 million people suffer speed accident injuries each year, with
varying general economic costs.
from 2 to 5 percent of GDP in many countries. In addition, the impact of speeding accidents on the streets in families
that lose income is enormous, both in terms of emotional trauma and loss of income, especially in poor countries
where there are no safety nets and for accident victims. traffic.
In addition, in 2014, the WHO and the United Nations (UN) identified speeding and road deaths as a major global
health problem with economic consequences that affect the sustainable development of countries and the slow
progress towards reducing poverty and prosperity. I could. In developed countries such as Western Europe, North
America, Japan, Australia and New Zealand, the problem of accelerating accidents is decreasing (Aderamo 2012). In
Nigeria, South Africa, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya and Uganda, however, there is still a high number of road deaths.
Nigeria, like other developing countries, is experiencing a rapid increase in motorization without adequate road safety
measures to control the growing number of accidents and speed violations. As reported in other low and middle
income countries, the main victims are pedestrians, cyclists and public transport passengers (Downing, 1991). In
Nigeria, the road crash has been particularly disturbing for the last fifty years. As noted in the FRSC (Annual Report
2015), the trends in the RTC statistics show that in Independence in 1960, 1083 registered a total of 14130 cases of
RTC
resulting deaths. This number increased to 4,0881 cases, with 6,761 deaths in 1976. By 1988, the number of RTC
had decreased to 25,792 cases, but the number of deaths increased to 9077 (see Annex VI for RTC statistics in
Nigeria 1960-1988) .
In this context, the government of General Ibrahim Babangida, founded in 1988 as a child by necessity to stop these
ugly tendencies on the streets of Nigeria, is in this context. The Federal Road Safety Corps has adopted Decree No.
45 of 1988, as amended by Decree 35 of the Speed Management Agency of 1992, which obliges the FRSC to
comprehensively handle road safety problems and the management of road safety. speed in Nigeria.
Since the founding of FRSC, their continuous efforts, innovation and tireless commitment have reduced the RTC rate
in the countries from 25,792 cases in 1988 to 9734 cases in 2015. While this reduction is commendable, compared to
other companies developed and established in In the developing world, statistics are still unacceptably high. - 1.2 statement of the problem
- Despite the efforts of the Federal Road Safety Corps and other road traffic control agencies, cases of high-speed
crashes are high in Nigeria, with negative consequences for human and economic resources.
from the country. According to the FRSC cited by Bernard (2015), Nigeria loses around 3% of GDP through RTCs
annually. In 2009 alone, the revenue lost as a result of road speed accidents in Nigeria was more than the GDP of
twenty individual African countries. Adedokun (2015) reported that 6450 Nigerians lost their lives on our roads in
2013, while 40057 people were injured, this figure is similar to that reported by the FRSC in 2013, which indicated
that a total of 13,583 accident cases were recorded. speed on the road with 6544 people killed and 40057 injured.
This is a slight reduction compared to the figure for 2012, where of 14783 cases of speeding accidents on the road,
6573 died and 40,683 people were injured (Annual Report 2013 of the FRSC). Despite the slight fall in 2013, the
problem still persists and demands serious intervention. According to Oyeyemi (2016), it is estimated that 11,031,809
drivers were registered at the end of 2015 and it is expected that 11,893,393 will be on Nigerian roads with a vehicle
population of 10,565,571 at the end of 2016. With the poor state of roads in the country, the problem Of road speed
accidents is still a big challenge. Oyeyemi (2016) also reported that 21199 vehicles participated in accidents in 2013,
16779 in 2014 and 17198 in 2015, respectively. This clearly demonstrates that the trend of the fall in road speed has
not been reversed to the benchmark set by Nigeria in line with the United Nations decade of action 2011-2020. The
United Nations established a framework to stop the growing trend of deaths due to the speed of roads; establishment
of a leading agency in road safety management with various partners, establishing realistic long-term objectives and
financing for strategic road safety activities. The actualization of this dream is hampered by the lack of coordinated
efforts among several government agencies (federal, state and district), nongovernmental agencies, the private sector
and other organizations / stakeholders interested in road safety. Most of the time, road safety does not get the level of
political support it deserves. In addition, the lack of funding for road safety is hampering well-intentioned road safety
policies in Nigeria. The high prevalence of vehicles that are not worthy of roads on the roads, the excessive load on
the axles, especially on tankers and trailers, is a major problem that is opposed to good management of highway
speed and reduction of speed accidents. The use of underage and poorly trained drivers and the use of drugs among
drivers account for 87% of vehicle crashes between January and August 2014, while the FRSC recorded an increase
in the crash rate with 39% attributed to speed (Annual Report of FRSC 2014). FRSC data on PSTN involving
commercial vehicles in Nigeria between 2007 and 2011 indicated that there were 2094 crashes that killed 1150
people and injured 5865. Despite its remarkable success, six years away from its goal for 2020 to achieve 3.2 deaths
per 10,000 vehicles, the FRSC continues to be 41 deaths per 10,000 vehicles (data from the FRSC 2012). In a
related statistic published by the FRSC in its 2015 annual report, LAGOS recorded the highest number of accidents in
the entire country in 2014 and 2015, respectively (see Appendix VIII). This, therefore, requires urgent intervention to mitigate the problem. - 1.2 Objective of the study
- To examine the relationship between the management of the speed
of the road and the reduction of the road speed shocks in Lagos in order to make recommendations and proffer implementation strategies.
SPEED MANAGEMENT AND ACCIDENT REDUCTION AMONG MOTORISTS IN LAGOS STATE